Meet the candidates: David Alvarez

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with candidates for mayor of San Diego in the Nov. 19 special election. Each of the leading contenders was invited to meet with the U-T Editorial Board. Nathan Fletcher has not responded to four invitations. David Alvarez, a Democrat, is a first-term councilman who represents the city’s southernmost neighborhoods. He was elected to the City Council in 2010. The following is a condensed and edited transcript of the interview.

David Alvarez, meeting with the U-T San Diego Editorial Board.— John Gastaldo

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David Alvarez, meeting with the U-T San Diego Editorial Board.
— John Gastaldo

A: I will sit and talk to anybody about any issue whether we agree or disagree. I always find a way to have a respectful conversation and hopefully try to find some common ground. And that’s why I’m running for mayor. That’s what we need in the city, especially after what we had over the last year. I was born and raised in San Diego. I’ve lived here my whole life except for one year when I was in Sacramento working in the Fellowship Program. My parents came here and they worked really hard and taught me a lot of good values. And I love the city. That’s why I ran for office the first time, to try to find common solutions for the neighborhoods that I represent now in the Eighth Council District, and now in this opportunity for mayor to bring that same attitude to the entire city. I am raising my family here. My wife is also a native. We believe in the future of San Diego. That’s why she’s an educator. That’s why I’m in public service.

Meet the other candidates

A: A San Diego that continues to grow and become economically competitive. I see San Diego as a region. How do we remain competitive? How do families have an actual chance to make it? How do we give every person an opportunity to be successful the same way that I had? I grew up very poor, having to get support from family and loved ones when we didn’t have a house to live in. I worked my way through college because my parents didn’t have money. Hard work goes a long way. And everybody needs to have that opportunity, everybody in every part of the city really needs the chance to either start a business or be successful in whatever career path they choose. The future of San Diego that I envision is one that’s competitive economically, that has a thriving economy but also a thriving culture. I think San Diego’s already got a lot going on from a cultural perspective. And we’ve got to bring some of that into our communities as well. We’ve got great playhouses and theaters and museums. When I was a child growing up I had the opportunity, through the school system, to visit some of those places. And a lot of those opportunities no longer exist. Not everyone is receiving the same opportunity in the San Diego of today. In the San Diego of the future everybody should have that chance.

Q: What are some of your priorities?

A: One is affordable housing. In order to attract good employers and employees you’ve got to have a good housing stock. San Diego is really behind in that. We also need good-paying jobs. A good example of that is the Convention Center plan the way it exists today. There was consensus that was reached there and now you see my colleagues, Kevin Faulconer and Todd Gloria, and a lot of other folks on board, supporting that project because it really is a type of project and type of economic development that we need in the future. It’s creating good middle-class jobs, whether it’s the construction jobs that are short-term, or the long-term jobs in the tourism sector. The hotel workers who actually will have a chance to be able to afford to live in San Diego and not have to travel far away, that’s another item on my agenda for the future of San Diego. Getting more people involved is a really good thing. It makes things more challenging because there’s more interest and everybody has a different opinion. But it really improves the dialogue. It gets people to think differently and to start thinking as a community rather than just as an individual.

Q: You brought up the Convention Center — you support the existing expansion plan. The Chargers have raised an objection and offered their own plan. If you’re supporting the existing Convention Center expansion proposal what would you do to keep the Chargers in San Diego?

A: I think we’ve got to do everything we can to do that. If the current expansion proposal goes forward we’re going to have to find a different way to work with the Chargers. We’re already tapping into TOT funds to pay for that expansion at the tune of $3 million a year. So we’re going to be really limited in terms of where we go to find the money to help build the stadium. We’re going to have to put that money back into the community first and foremost, from my perspective.

Q: Would you support the use of public dollars in any form for a new stadium?

A: I would be very concerned about that. I have not seen the Chargers’ proposal. Until seeing an actual proposal, it’s really difficult (to say). I’m quite thoughtful about my decisions. I take my time. And I ask a lot of questions. I don’t just rush to judgment. So without knowing what that really is, it’s really hard to say yes or no (to the plan). I can’t make a call on that at the moment.

Q: Do you believe that the Port District has been an effective governmental agency at regulating the tidelands in and around San Diego?

A: I think they’re doing a much better job of it. I think they need to engage more. I believe that the port has the land available where a lot of the uses that are outside could potentially be inside. And if they’re maritime-oriented, supporting the shipyards, specifically, we should find out where those are and we should move in that direction. The port should be involved in incentivizing that type of work going on for tenants.

Q: Do you support the effort that was launched to try to bring the Olympic Games to San Diego?

A: I was surprised to hear (the announcement), thinking that it was sort of an idea that might have a lot of challenges. And I think we’ve come to realize that it does. But very soon after, in speaking primarily with my colleagues in Tijuana and with other council members, [I realized] the excitement that was built around that was genuine. And the idea of just spending some time talking to each other about what we’re doing and how we could potentially plan for something like that is all that I’ve been about when it comes to our border region. That’s definitely a good thing to think about and a good discussion to have. And why not think of San Diego as a potential host to the Olympics. There’s no reason to think that we shouldn’t think that big. We’re a great city and we should think like a great city.

Q: What differentiates you from the other announced candidates?

A: I have a different story of how I got into politics. I have not been a politician my whole life. I’ve been someone who’s been working in the community, with my church involvement and then in my neighborhood activism. I never expected to run for office. I went to San Diego State and San Diego High School. And being local, I think, gives me a distinct opportunity to see the San Diego that I think we can become. I come from a different set of values, one of hardworking parents, very blue collar. And those values are what made me the first in my family to go to college and get involved in politics, which is something totally foreign in my family. I got elected when nobody thought I could and just worked hard to represent my community and the city for the last three years. Being able to reach consensus on some very difficult issues — retiree health care, a labor agreement this year which, by the way, I proposed in January of the year before, that’s what I was proposing, a five-year (pensionable) pay freeze on employees to achieve those savings. I think that I have plenty of ideas. The accomplishments that I’ve had on the council, particularly when it comes to water issues, making sure that San Diego is less reliant on imported water.... The TMD agreement that happened this year, which was probably one of the most controversial things... to be able to sit down with folks who, again, hoteliers, that’s not a group that’s supporting my candidacy, but in the interest of moving San Diego forward in the right direction we did. To actually get us doing things, I thought it was the right time to step up and I did that. And I’ve done that on many other issues.

Q: Do you think the mayor should have a role of any kind, formal or otherwise, in city schools?

A: No. I believe we have elected school board members who really focus on that. I can tell you that as a member of the council in all the issues that we work on there is a lot. And to bring the schools in-house into the mayor’s office would create more bureaucracy at the city. And I don’t think that’s any good.

Q: Is there anything that you think it’s important for our readers to know about you that we’ve not talked about today?

A: I’m a proud San Diegan. I want to see the city be one of the greatest cities in the world. And I think we’ve got the potential to do that. I’ve got the passion to work hard to ensure that that happens.